Sequential separation process of antioxidant polyphenols from umbu-cajá (Spondias bahiensis P. Carvalho, Van den Berg & M. Machado) leaves by ultrasound-assisted pressurized liquid extraction
摘要
The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of ultrasound-assisted pressurized liquid extraction (UAPLE) to obtain phenolic compounds from umbu-cajá leaves using solvents with distinct polarity. Based on the results of only one-step extraction with hexane, ethyl acetate, and ethanol, UAPLE presented the highest overall extraction yield compared to ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE), and pressurized liquid extraction (PLE). Moreover, the sequential ultrasound-assisted pressurized liquid extraction (S-UAPLE) with three distinct solvents (hexane, ethyl acetate, and ethanol) in increasing polarity led to an increase in the overall extraction yield. The results showed that when ethanol was used as the third solvent extractor in S-UAPLE, it enhanced its extraction efficiency for total flavonoids (742.05 ± 5.12 µg/g dried extract) and total phenolic compounds (754.93 ± 0.87 µg/g dried extract), compared to all other extraction methods used in this study. Hence, the ethanolic extract obtained by S-UAPLE showed a higher antioxidant activity (92.3 ± 1.3 µg/mL) than all other extracts obtained in this study. The S-UAPLE supplied the highest clean-up of the bioactive compounds from umbu-cajá leaves, including antioxidant agents.